NEW! By Barry Rubin

“There have been many hundreds of books for and against Israel but no volume presenting the essential information about its domestic politics, its society, as well as its cultural life and its economy. This gap has now been filled.”—Walter Laqueur, author of A History of Zionism

"[An] essential resource for readers interested in learning the truth about the Zionist project in the 20th and 21st centuries."—Sol Stern, Commentary

“Offering in-depth perspectives with encyclopedic breadth on the makeup of the Jewish state, focusing only briefly on Israel's struggle for self-preservation. The section "History" provides a masterful summary of Israel's past from its socialist beginnings before independence to the modern struggles with the Iranian regime. . . .”—Publishers Weekly

“A well-written portrait of a vibrant nation at the center of turmoil in the region.”—Jay Freeman, Booklist

"It is indeed just a starting point, but Israel: An Introduction, if disseminated among our universities to the extent it deserves, will at least allow students of the Middle East and of Jewish history to start off on the right foot. A glimpse into the real Israel may do more for the future of U.S.-Israeli relations than any amount of rhetoric ever could."—Daniel Perez, Jewish Voice New York

Written by a leading historian of the Middle East, Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. The only available volume to offer such a complete account, this book is written for general readers and students who may have little background knowledge of this nation or its rich culture.

About Me

Barry Rubin was founder of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center--now the Rubin Center--and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. See the GLORIA/MERIA site at www.rubincenter.org.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Founded
by the late Professor Barry Rubin, the Rubin Center is one of the most
versatile and active Mid-East research centers in the world. Through its
groundbreaking frontline reporting and research, the center makes the
most up-to-date, accurate, often otherwise inaccessible information
available to policymakers, the broader public, and the media.

As a non-profit organization, the Rubin Center depends on your contributions to continue its work.

UPDATE: Some of the projects your tax-deductible donations have supported so far in 2016…

Frontline reporting

Throughout 2016, Rubin Center Director Dr. Jonathan Spyer
has continued his frontline reporting of the wars in Syria and Iraq.
Spyer recently visited the Turkish-Syrian border area, reporting on the
Turkish-supported rebel militias currently at the forefront of the
Turkish incursion into northern Syria; and in Iraqi Kurdistan, reporting
on preparations for the offensive to liberate Mosul from Islamic State
(IS). His articles have appeared recently in Jane’s Intelligence Review, The Spectator (UK), and The Australian.
Spyer also recently spent time in Syria with the Syrian Democratic
Forces militia, reporting for these and other publications.Primary research

Rubin Fellow Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
has continued to build up his unique archives of over 500 Islamic State
documents, creating a vital public resource on the inner workings of
the organization (financial accounts, personnel lists, and more). These
archives and collections have included many previously unseen documents
and texts leaked by Jawad, including important works like Principles in the Administration of the Islamic State
(a bureaucratic position paper outline of the state project) and a
manual guiding commanders in planning and executing military missions.
Britain’s The Guardian has called Jawad’s archive “the most thorough log of Isis documents available to the public.”

Jawad also wrote a widely publicized paper for West Point’s CTC Sentinel assessing
the Islamic State’s strengths and weaknesses based partly on internal
documents. While with the Rubin Center, Jawad has profiled numerous
militias in Syria, including native Syrian Hizballah and the integration
of Shi’i militias into the Syrian state apparatus.

Rubin
Center Director Dr. Jonathan Spyer recently authored a paper on
Israel’s strategic doctrine for the Friends of Israel group, and a paper on Iranian regional strategy for the Henry Jackson Society think tank, for which he interviewed senior serving Israeli officials.

We are also happy to welcome new Rubin Center Associate Neri Zilber,
a journalist and researcher on Middle East politics and culture and an
adjunct fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Media and Consultancy

As
specialists on the ground throughout the Middle East, the Rubin Center
frequently consults for governments, including the United States, UK,
China, Israel, India, Canada, and the Czech Republic, news media, and
academic research. Rubin researchers have been sought out by the White
House, the British Parliament, and other Western governments, as well as
media bodies and human rights NGOs.

In
2016 alone, Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi has been quoted in a wide range of
media outlets, academic journals, and government briefings—including in a U.S. House of Representatives memo on investigating financing for terrorism, and by the United Nations on the subject of crimes against the Yazidis in Syria.

Jonathan
Spyer has recently visited Beijing, Prague, and Washington,
D.C.—addressing meetings at Capitol Hill. He will soon visit New Delhi
and Copenhagen as part of the center’s ongoing ties with a number of
foreign embassies.

Covering
the latest developments in the region from a wide variety of
viewpoints, including U.S. policy, radical movements, and minorities,
the Rubin Center’s quarterly journal MERIA has a circulation of over 25,000. Get your free email subscription today!

In
a crucial geographical and political location, Turkey’s importance is
growing rapidly throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.
With an upsurge in interest in its history, politics, and foreign
policy, Turkish Studies quarterly—listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)—offers scholarly discussion on these topics and more.

Books

The Rubin Center has produced numerous books on subjects related to the modern Middle East. These include:

The Military History of the Modern Middle East—covers
the military history of the past hundred years, including both World
Wars, the Turkish-Greek conflicts, Arab nationalism, the Arab-Israeli
conflicts, and the post-2003 fighting in Iraq

Monday, September 12, 2016

Click
here for PDF
Since early 2016, China has increased its mediation efforts to help
Syria achieve peace and stability. This study evaluates Chinese
mediation efforts in the Syrian conflict by … [Read More...]

For
PDF click here
Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, has been a center for Islamic State
since its conquest by the group in 2014. The Iraqi government, the
United States-led coalition and the … [Read More...]

For
PDF, click here
Since the Iraqi Kurdish rebellion in the early 1960s, Turkish
policymakers have perceived Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq as a major
threat to the country’s national security, … [Read More...]

For
PDF click here
Iran is actively supporting proxies in major conflicts in the following
areas: Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories. In
addition, there is evidence that … [Read More...]

For
PDF click here
This article assesses the backlash surrounding German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s “culture of welcome,” a policy of welcoming large numbers of
refugees from the Middle East, North … [Read More...]

For
PDF click here
In the decades since 1949, China has made major progress in the area of
Middle East studies. These academic achievements are reflected not only
in the great volume of publications, … [Read More...]

Sunday, July 17, 2016

“Terrorism, the Skorzeny Syndrome, is flourishing in the modern world, a reminder that Hitler and Nazism are still taking their toll more than three decades after the Third Reich collapsed.”— Glenn B. Infield, biographer of Nazi commander Otto Skorzeny

On November 28, 1941, Adolf Hitler and Arab leader Mohammed Amin al-Husaini had a pivotal 90-minute meeting. New research has revealed that Hitler and the Mufti verbally cemented a pact to exterminate the Jewish population in Europe and in the Middle East.

Adolf Hitler and Mohammed Amin al-Husaini meet in Berlin, 1941

This critical meeting changed the course of history, and it likely represents the dawn of modern-day terrorism, according to the riveting book by Barry Rubin and Wolfgang Schwanitz Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East.

ISIS’s dream of a border-melting Islamic State echoes Hitler’s efforts to create a Third Reich in Europe. The escalating terror attacks in Orlando, Turkey, Dhaka, the Medina and Baghdad in response to ISIS’s recent loss of territory are reminiscent of terrorist tactics the Nazis resorted to as their dream was crushed near the end of World War II.

Shortly after al-Husaini and Hitler met, Hitler and his inner circle began to plan at the Wannsee Conference how they would carry out the genocide of Europe’s Jews. The alliance between al-Husaini and Hitler would eventually culminate in Nazi leaders relocating to the Middle East after World War II. There, they would spread their socialist and genocidal ideologies while training Arab jihadists in terrorist tactics.

The Nazi Origins Of Modern-Day Terrorism

During the final months of World War II, Hitler saw his dreams for a Third Reich crumble as Allied Forces turned the tides of war. Hitler became increasingly desperate for results and for propaganda wins to maintain morale. He sought counsel from Otto Skorzeny, the leader of Operation Greif, which used German soldiers to infiltrate their opponents by adapting enemy languages, uniforms and customs. Skorzeny was the twisted genius who had dressed Nazi soldiers in American uniforms in an effort to spread rumors of Eisenhower’s assassination and demoralize the Allies. In 1943, Skorzeny led the rescue mission that freed Benito Mussolini from prison. In 1944, he organized a secret unit of German suicide bombers.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Click here for PDF This study attempts to estimate the development of civil society in the Arab World by using comparative opinion survey data based on the author’s evaluation of the World Values Survey. Certain basic assumptions of current Middle East studies are evaluated, which are also reflected in the Obama administration’s Presidential Research Directive […]

Click here for PDF This article seeks to explore the dynamics surrounding the various Sunni jihadi groups in the south of Syria near the border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, examining whether they pose a significant and imminent threat to Israel’s security. It is based on a presentation given by the author at a Rubin […]

Click here for PDF Iranian moderates made significant gains in the country’s February 2016 legislative elections. The reformists won 85 out of 290 seats compared with 75 seats for the conservatives. However, the reformists represented in the new parliament have no historical continuity with the reformist camp of the former President Mohammad Khatami; those reformists […]

Click here for PDF This article discusses the minority rights of Iran’s Azerbaijani Turks and human rights violations in its majority Azerbaijani-populated provinces of Iran by the Iranian central government. With the conclusion of the second Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the signing of the Turkmenchay Treaty, Azerbaijan was divided into north and south, with the […]

Click here for PDF Turkey’s Islamic movement increased its power dramatically during the first decade of the 2000s, benefiting from the cooperation of the AKP and the Gulen movement. This alliance allowed Islamic actors to control major state functions following several decades of struggle against secularist elites. Yet, to the surprise of most observers, the […]